A holocaust connection.
Open-heart surgery.
Heroin abuse.
Natasha Lyonne's roles have mirrored her life in more ways than one.
Natasha Lyonne's family history includes relatives who directly experienced the horrors of the
Holocaust.
On a 2017 episode of "WTF with Marc Maron," Lyonne delved into her family history, where
she shared that her maternal grandmother, Ella, along with her sisters and a brother,
survived the genocide.
Lyonne said her grandparents often didn't speak directly about their Holocaust experience
because, as she understands, it was a survival mechanism.
Not only did they survive, but her grandparents made successful lives for themselves after
World War II in the United States.
Several of Lyonne's film and television projects have been about the Holocaust.
In 2001, Lyonne co-starred in the movie "The Grey Zone," which depicts life in the Auschwitz
death camp.
Season 2 of Lyonne's Netflix series "Russian Doll" looks at the generational trauma the
Holocaust caused.
According to The New Yorker, preparation for Season 2's writers included assigning Holocaust
survivor Viktor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" to the writers.
For Natasha Lyonne, being a child actor wasn't exactly her idea.
Per The New Yorker, Lyonne started working in show business in kindergarten as a scheme
to bankroll her father's varied, and somewhat eccentric, professional interests.
She starred in commercials, then made her movie debut in 1986's "Heartburn."
She then appeared in the '80s children's show phenomenon "Pee-wee's Playhouse" and had a
small role as a troubled babysitter in the 1993 movie "Dennis The Menace."
For Lyonne's parents, her childhood stardom seemed like a path to financial success.
She recalled in Variety,
"It was my parents' fantasy to materialize their very own Shirley Temple; that was going
to pay the bills.
Sadly the money was spent."
Reflecting on her time as a child performer, Lyonne told Heeb Magazine,
"It is kind of a wacky idea to put your child in business at six years old.
I had to become coherent and a businesswoman at six.
By 10, I was a jaded professional.
[...] I don't think they knew better.
It was a decision of my parents built on hopeful ignorance."
Now, as an adult with a successful career in Hollywood, Lyonne looks back at her child
acting days with appreciation.
She said to Variety,
"In some ironic adult-person way, now I'm just fine with how it all went.
I forgive my parents for the weirdness of having me suited up with a briefcase as a
6-year-old."
With all the instability in her childhood, it's not surprising that Natasha Lyonne's
relationship with her parents became volatile.
Her mother, Ivette Buchinger, was an aspiring dancer; dad Aaron Braunstein's career ambitions
included boxing promotion and race car driving.
Lyonne, along with her brother, moved with her parents from Long Island to Israel.
Her father's alcohol misuse and his failing business ventures led Lyonne and her mother
to return to the United States.
The New York Times reported that by age 16, Lyonne was living on her own.
She said of her relationship with her parents,
"I'd love to say that there's been this great 180 and happy ever after."
However, she remained mostly estranged from both her mother and father until their deaths
in the early 2010s.
In 2010, the New York Post shared that Lyonne sought a restraining order against her father,
but despite this, he still celebrated his daughter's successes.
When the Observer visited Braunstein's apartment while he was running for New York City Council
in 2013, it was adorned with Lyonne memorabilia.
When her parents died, Lyonne felt relief.
In The New Yorker, she told filmmaker Janicza Bravo,
"I mean, I got really lucky, because they died.
I only mean that it was so all-consuming, and I think it's very hard to let go of that.
Now I'm an adult, and I can start my life.
That's no longer a present danger in my psyche."
The Netflix original series "Orange Is The New Black" followed the journey of inmates
at the fictional Litchfield Penitentiary and was lauded by critics for its depiction of
complex female characters.
The Washington Post observed in 2013,
"Watching the show, one begins to realize that all the good parts for women truly have
been kept locked up somewhere; now, here they all are, free [...] to be portrayed."
Natasha Lyonne played one of those "good parts" in the show, playing "junkie philosopher"
Nicky Nicols, a role which drew heavily from Lyonne's own experience with heroin and substance
misuse.
Lyonne told The Guardian that her very public addiction story made her sympathetic to Nicky's
circumstances.
She said,
"To me, what is more interesting about it is that I never feel like anybody in that
position is a stranger to me.
When I first started on 'Orange' I'd never served time, but I'd definitely been arrested
enough times."
"Seriously, I'm clean.
Ironically enough, you are now."
Nicky's open-heart surgery after an overdose mirrored that of Lyonne's own procedure.
In 2012, the actor underwent open-heart surgery for endocarditis, often referred to as "heroin
heart."
Being able to portray her own journey through Nicky was a positive experience for Lyonne.
She said to The New York Daily News,
"It's sort of life-affirming to see where personal experience ends up.
Having some usefulness in your day job makes you better, so much more capable to transmit
or articulate something."
Nastasha Lyonne's life has been filled with plenty of personal and professional highs
and lows.
Lyonne's journey from child actor to Hollywood powerhouse hasn't been linear and she lamented
to The Guardian about her life's circuitous path to create her hit Netflix series "Russian
Doll."
She said,
"At 16, I already knew who I was.
But then had just the most insane waylaid life where at every turn, I was my own worst
enemy.
Then I reappeared, to tell that story."
And tell it she did, and it's safe to assume that Lyonne's experiences only made the show
better.
Now, Lyonne is championing herself and is making up for lost time in her career.
Lyonne shared with W Magazine that she has lost any pretenses that might have held her
back in the past.
She said at the time,
"I'm 42; I just don't care anymore.
I want to tell a story that connects with people and makes them feel less alone, and
less ashamed of their existence."
She told The New Yorker about the urgency of her creative zeal,
"I get panicky I won't have enough time.
I feel like I already blew so much."
But despite appearances, Lyonne is no longer a villain to herself, telling W Magazine,
"I might wear black clothes and smoke cigarettes, but in many ways I'm an optimist and believe
in this underlying good-natured, happy ending type of s---."
"You ever gamble?
'Cause you could make a killing.
*laughs* Nah."
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).